My lotus are dying and i think its these bugs i found swimming in the water they are not mosquito larvae and im pretty sure they arent aphids since they live underwater and theres no swarms of them on the leaves on top. they are grayish brown round bugs that stay underwater. theres also these sludgy casings and little tunnels in the soil. I think they are eating the leaves and/or roots bc my lotus are quickly going downhill ive worked so hard on these guys so i need to know what these bugs are and how to get rid of them. thankyou lotus needs help ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) black sooty cases on leaf ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) black sooty cases ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) little tunnel holes in the soil ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) mystery pest ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) closeup of this mystery pest ( photo / image / picture from Chubbypoptart's Garden ) moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
Could they be snails that maybe caught a ride with the Lotus when you bought it? I really can't tell for sure, that's just the first thing that came to mind.
I found some information about aphids that go after water plants, that might be your problem. Remove the plant from the container, remove the damaged leaves and hose them off really well water and spray them cooking spray oil. That will suffocate any that are in hiding. Clean out the container really well then replace the plant. The amount of oil on the leaves won't affect the plant or water. Even if they aren't aphids, you need to remove the plant, spray it with an insecticide and place in a separate container of water for as long as the instructions recommend. Clean out the water garden container before putting it back in.
I looks as though your beetles may be burrowing water beetles. Follow Toni's advice and you should be able to eradicate them. I'll keep my fingers crossed that your lotus survive.
So sorry to hear/see this problem with your Lotus! I sure hope the advice you got works to save them. Please keep us informed on their recovery. Good luck!
Thanks guys I think im going with the burrowing water beetles. honestly, i don't know how i would do it. I just transplanted my smaller lotus from one gal. pails into their new homes and that was scary enough. these guys im dealing with with the beetles have been in 15 gallon containers since around march. im sure they have very large root systems by now and it was hard enough with the little guys plus if im having trouble with the beetles wont they just come back after i work so hard to clean them and plant them again?....ohhh *sigh*
As long as everything is cleaned up thoroughly you shouldn't have any more problems. The eggs were probably on the plants when you first got them but wouldn't have been obvious to the naked eye. I hope all goes well for you.
well i raised these from seed so i dont think they were brought in i think they are in my yard or came in from a bird ow whatever carrier but i guess they will either die from the beetles or have a slight chance if i go through all the hassle. im almost tempted to just start over lol
Hows it going with lotus now. I had a problem last year, my plants looked the same. I did not check for bugs. I attributed it to the water temp fluctuations, as mine were in above ground tubs too. I sunk the tubs in the ground and this year the plants look much better, could be coincidence? Water lily and Plumeria growing well ( photo / image / picture from featherphobia's Garden ) I do not have a current photo but they have some leaves 10 inches across now. The lotus tub is on the back side of pic, in the front are water lilly
Still pretty much in the same condition. Im going to figure out a way to shade them for a couple of hours bc they are too heavy to move and with a two yr old and an eight wk old i dont have time to clean them out and repot them if they dont survive i'll just have to start again next season. And carolyn there are plenty of princes around but i dont know if they eat these kind of bugs
